The Kings of NCIS
by TheRoseShadow21
Summary: Lindsay"Lynnie" Tia DiNozzo is living the life -she's a sucessful NCIS agent , leading her own team in the MCRT with a status almost as legendary as Gibbs team. But when NCIS Medical Examiner's Assistant Tatara Totsuka is murdered , , Lynnie and the team find themselves in a deep investigation taking them all the way to Tatara's home city and a legend that has its roots in truth.
1. Prologue-Beginning of the End

**This is the prologue for the sort-of sequel to my NCIS fanfic "Family." It isn't necessary that you've read that fic , but it doesn't hurt to : ) **

**Anyway , I know the fact this is a crossover with the K Project Anime may put off some people , so I'm posting this prologue to see what reactions I get , and I plan to start the proper story during the summer holidays(next month). Now might be a good time for the disclaimer: I only own THIS PLOT and MY OCs. **

**So, Enjoy, and please leave feedback .**

_Tatara isn't here_

That's what Anna felt when she woke up that mild December morning. She had no inkling of what was to come, but she could instantly tell that he wasn't in the house. But she wasn't about to panic. She could not let herself panic. Quietly, so as to not wake Miki up, she went to Tatara and Emily's bedroom, and poked her head around the door.  
As was expected, the left side of the bed , where Emily had once slept , was. Tatara's side , although messy , wasn't slept on either. Sat on , maybe. She decided to check the fridge. If things were OK , there'd be a note. Once she'd got there , she quickly confirmed that there was indeed a note on the fridge. Outwardly, she relaxed , but on the inside , she was still worried. There was a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, as if something was going to happen., but she tried to ignore it as she noticed the time-she needed to wake up Miki , or they'd both be late to school. After quickly brushing her teeth , she went into Miki's bright coloured room , and pulled open the curtains to let light stream into the room .The increase in light had the desired effect ,and Miki opened her eyes

"Where's Papa?" The child said sleepily "Why are_ you_ waking me up?" sitting up , she pushed her gold-brown fringe out of her eyes unsuccessfully , letting go of the blue teddy bear she had been hugging.

"Tatara's gone to video the sun rising over …by the riverside. He might not be back for breakfast. There's a note on the fridge , if you don't believe me. Nothing to worry about." _Hah , I wish!_ She thought. There seemed to be everything to worry about , she just didn't know what exactly , "everything" was comprised of. She kept her face as neutral as possible though –a task harder since she'd learnt to feel again.

Luckily , Miki didn't notice anything, Instead , she yawned

"Ok then. Will you make me a cheese toasty for breakfast?" She asked as she got out of bed , and slipped her feet into bunny slippers.

"Sure."

"Yay!" Miki pitter-pattered into the bathroom. Anna sighed , and went to get changed.

…

She managed to get Miki to school without too much trouble. Miki had wanted her to plait her hair , which had taken some trouble , as Anna couldn't remember how to plait. But once Miki had said goodbye to the photo of Emily that sat on the mantelpiece, they had left.

Now, alone, Anna took out her mobile , and punched in the number she had memorised earlier. Cursing silently when she heard it go to voicemail, she waited for the beep, and left her message.

…

NCIS Medical Examiner Jimmy Palmer zipped up the body of the Marine who'd actually died of natural causes and sighed. Where the hell was Totsuka? Normally, he would have done this all in half the time had his usually punctual assistant been around. Going to his desk, he went to write up the report when he noticed his mobile phone screen flashing. _Odd. I didn't hear it ring._

He pressed the necessary buttons to hear the message on his phone. A young , accented voice came out of the speakers.

"You are Palmer? Mr Jimmy Palmer? This is Anna Kushina , I'm Tatara Totsuka's sister. Anyway , I was wondering , did he decide to come straight to work today? He left a note on the fridge saying he wanted to film the sun rising , but his bed isn't slept in . I am a bit worried, because he hasn't done a thing like this before , not since Emily….you probably know.

I have to go to school , but if you've seen him , could you call back at maybe 12:45 , because that's when lunchtime , I might come over to NCIS after school…..thanks."

At that , the message cut off. Jimmy played it again. Then, Picking up his mobile, he went to the squadroom.

"You guys haven't seen Totsuka , have you?"

"No…why?" Special Agent Connor Cray asked. Jimmy perched on Cray's desk , and held up his phone , attracting the curiosity of Special Agents Murray Waters , Esther Wilson and Lindsay "Lynnie" DiNozzo . They went to gather around, but Lynnie's desk phone began to ring ,

"Listen to this." Jimmy said, playing the message.

Apart from Lynnie taking the call , they were all silent as they listened. When the message ended , Wilson asked:

"But why are you worried? I'm pretty sure Totsuka's always trying random things. He probably got side tracked."

"You ever remember him being late?" Jimmy replied

"Apart from the day his wife died ….." Cray put in.

"You see? Why I'm concerned?"

"Yeah …but give it time…"

At that point , Lynnie put down the phone , and leaned down to grab her backpack , and once she had done so , she straightened and said

"Grab your gear!"

The rest of the team and Jimmy stared at her. She tipped her head towards Jimmy , to indicate her next comment was aimed to him.

"Your suspicions seem to have been confirmed. Dead body found on the rooftop of an apartment overlooking the River Park. "

**So , there we have it. The prologue…I'm guessing you know what happened to Tatara. So anyway , if anyone can help me come up with a better title and leave some feedback on this prologue , anything they might like to see in the story etc. then I'll be happy ^^**


	2. Welcome to the Playground

**Thank you so much , my first ever reviewer! Hope this continues to please :)**

"So , here's what we know. The victim was NCIS Medical Examiner's Assistant Tatara Totsuka, Aged 35 …"Lynnie and her team were in the squadroom, looking at the screen, trying to find a direction for the preliminary investigation to go.

As was the procedure , the team members continued where Lynnie had dropped off.

"He was found at about 8:50 this morning , on the roof of the apartment block at the end of River Street , overlooking River Park , by a resident in the apartment …she lived on the top floor , and her son was misbehaving and ran up there and ….you get the idea. " Cray , sitting at his desk , tapped on the keyboard and a couple of the crime scene photos showed up on the screen.

Murray continued "He was shot once, just below the heart. Jimmy has to confirm it , but it would seem he died from a loss of blood-as in , if someone had noticed a lot earlier , and raised the alarm he might still be with us. "A quick glance from Lynnie had him hastily say "I'm not assuming anything though."

"Nobody heard or saw anything untoward around 3am-the time of his death." Cray said "His camera was still turned on when he was found. Abby and Bonnie are dealing with that. "

Lynnie nodded , studying the range of pictures and documents on the screen.

"So , whoever did it used a silencer on the gun. "

"But why?"

"Whatcha think we're investigating, Wilson?" Lynnie retorted." Then again, that's a good question. Why would anyone kill Totsuka?"

"I just looked into his phone records. Apart from a few calls to and from Jimmy and a couple to and from a cell phone registered to an Anna Kushina , there's nothing that stands out. Although, the call from Anna Kushina was made at about 8:00 , almost an hour before he was found." Cray said suddenly.

Lynnie looked at him" Anna….where've I heard that before?"

"It's _Anna_." Wilson corrected their pronunciation, and the 2 agents gave her a_ look, _so she brushed the name issues aside and continued

"Totsuka's sister. Remember? The one who phoned Jimmy earlier. She must have tried to call him first. "

"Then why do they have different surnames?" Murray wanted to know. It was a good question .

Cray pulled up some more information.

"Because they had the same legal guardian , back in Japan. A guy by the name of Mikoto Suoh. He kept their normal surnames. This guy died 8 years ago. He had throat cancer, but it doesn't say here if that's what killed him. It probably did. Anyway, A year later, Totsuka and Anna come here. I believe he was pen pals with Emily, which explains how they got hooked up so fast . Their daughter, Miki-Jane, is 6 years old. "

"And now she's an orphan."

There was a sad silence for a while. Then , Lynnie took charge.

"Ok , as of yet , we have no motive , so this could be anything –gang related , money , revenge, so …."

At this point , Gibbs walked by. He took a look at the screen.

"Oh , hey Uncle Gibbs!" Lynnie said chirpily. "We're gonna need you-2 kids left behind , the-"

"Yeah , I know. The sister and the daughter. Should I get someone from The Playground to collect them and bring them over here?" 'The Playground' was the name that NCIS employees gave to the 'NCIS Child and Young Person Protection Department' which had been formed in response to a case that had eventually led to the deaths of 2 children , both children of Navy officers.

Lynnie nodded . Gibbs took another long look at the screen.

"Go back to his roots" Was all that Gibbs said before leaving.

The other agents looked slightly dazed , but Lynnie snapped them out of it by saying

" Like I was saying…."

…

The whole class went almost silent when the Head teacher walked in, loud chattering turning to whispers as the head teacher talked to Ms Wyatt, Anna's class teacher , who then turned to look at Anna with a sorrowful look.

And then she knew.

She just_ knew._

Just as Ms Wyatt formed the words to tell Anna she needed to leave and go down to reception , she stood up , collected her stuff and followed the Head teacher, ignoring the whispers of her class , who were wondering what was so serious to warrant the head teacher collecting her.

When they got to reception , Anna was faced with two strange females. One was dark eyed and haired , very pretty , and slightly exotic , even by Anna's standards. The other had curly hair which was a brown that was a shade lighter than Emily's had been (before it fell out) and bright green eyes. This was the woman that spoke to Anna first.

"Hello , Anna. I'm Special Agent Esther Wilson , from NCIS ."Anna blinked at the fact that Esther Wilson had pronounced her name correctly. "You might recognise the name , your brother Tatara Totsuka worked for us .I'm afraid he's.."

"Dead." Anna said in a flat voice , feeling numb.

Esther blinked, then continued "And this is Special Agent Ziva David. She specifically works for the NCIS Child and Young Person Protection Department"

"Do I need protecting?" Anna knew she sounded insolent with her monotone voice but for now she was too numb to care, she was barely keeping her composure as it was. "Wouldn't Miki need more protection than me? She's only 6."

"We don't know why Tatara was killed , so until we do find out , we need to make sure neither of you get hurt , so we're taking you over to NCIS –we call that department 'The Playground' for short , so you can call it that if you like. And don't worry, we will collect Miki-Jane too , we just thought that , given her age and the fact her Mother died fairly recently , it might be better for her to have a familiar face around." Ziva explained.

Anna thought about this, and then nodded. She decided she liked Ziva more than she did Esther Wilson. She didn't really know why she thought this.

"So , you have all your things, Anna-Chan?"

Anna started at Ziva's use of the honorific. Nobody had called her "Anna-Chan" for a while. Not even Tatara had done so, after they had settled into American life. She considered this , then allowed a small , small smile to her lips.

"Yes. Let's go get Miki."

…

Once they had picked up Miki-Jane, and were on their way to NCIS , Ziva asked them questions , all the time sneaking looks at them . The 2 little girls were fascinating. One who looked exactly like Totsuka, the other looking nothing like him. Anna was 17, but she was petite, and so looked more like a 13 year old. Her hair was long, straight and silvery; a colour which Ziva didn't even think could even be a natural hair colour. It was held back by a dark red ribbon, although her bangs still fell into her eyes , and her clothes-black long-sleeved top with white lace around the neckline and hem and a red silky skirt with black roses printed on it, along with white socks and red patent shoes –completed the image of Anna being like a doll. She was almost as emotionless as one too.

Miki-Jane on the other hand….she was cute. Her hair had been French plaited and tied at the end with flowery hair bobbles (one blue, one purple) and she was wearing dark purple jeans and a white –and-blue stripy t-shirt under a red jacket. She was obviously scared and confused by the situation, and this was evident by the way she held Anna's hand, but she was chirpy too , smiling and asking all sorts of questions about NCIS. Ziva's heart went out to her.

"Once we are there, we'll need to ask you some questions about Tatara." Wilson , who was driving , said over her shoulder

"About Papa?" the child was cautious.

Ziva could feel Anna stare at her for a moment, but didn't bother to turn around. Then, she heard Anna whispering to Miki-Jane.

"Papa…Papa's gone to heaven?To be with Mummy?" Ziva turned around this time.

"We don't know why he went, but I'm sure he's with your Mum now."

"Oh." Miki-Jane's eyes went liquid, as though she was about to cry. "So, who's gonna look after me then?"

"I will. " Anna said quickly. Her expression didn't change, but Ziva got the impression that Anna was glaring at both her and Wilson.

"Actually, NCIS are going to look after both of you for a while. "

"Why?"

"Because whoever killed Tatara was bad, and he might want to hurt you guys too. " Ziva said.

Miki-Jane's face went angry "Anna can fight them! She knows lots of fighting, from Papa's old family –they always protected each other -, so she'll protect me –they even had a cool name….Homu-homu…"

"HOMRA" Anna corrected softly, hugging Miki-Jane, the look in her eyes haunted and far away.

"Anyway, we're here. " Wilson cut in. The car stopped, and they all got out.

"Wow!This is huge!" Miki-Jane's initial upset was forgotten for now.

In 20 minutes , they were at the entrance to 'The Playground'.

"Welcome to the playground. " Ziva proclaimed.

Anna raised an eyebrow, asking a question without actually asking.

"It's a hell of a lot easier than saying 'NCIS Child and Young Person Protection Department'" Wilson explained.

Anna nodded, and Ziva pushed open the doors. Miki-Jane spotted one of the toy-filled rooms, and went straight for it.

"Miki!" Anna said, not exactly shouting, but her voice carrying across the main area.

"I'm OK!" Miki-Jane's voice giggled back.

Anna made to join Miki when her eyes were drawn to the plaque set up on the wall. She wandered over, traced the names on there with her finger.

_Julie Sophia Parker _. _Nadia Watson _. Best friends, both with fathers who were marines on a classified project. Both failed by NCIS, who had not spotted the fact they were potential next victims. It had been the last major case Ziva had worked on, before 'The Playground 'was set up and she moved there. It still hurt. Anna studied that plaque, and then turned to Ziva. And nodded.  
Ziva didn't know what, exactly, that nod signified, but she felt a new understanding bloom between her and this strange teenage girl.

At that point , Lynnie arrived.

"You must be Anna. I'm Lindsay DiNozzo , I'm the lead agent investigating your brother's death. But call me Lynnie. Where's Miki-Jane?"

"With the toys. " Anna said. Ziva chuckled for some reason. Lynnie also smiled.

"Well , perhaps we can go to one of the classrooms , so we can ask you both some questions. "

"This isn't a school though!" Miki-Jane had come out, clutching a polka-dotted toy rabbit. "Why are there classrooms?"

"We sometimes have school trips come here. " Lynnie explained.

"Oh. " Miki-Jane went up to Anna , held her hand again. The two girls looked at Wilson, Ziva and Lynnie.

"Ok , let's get this over and done with. Perhaps later you'd like a mini tour on NCIS?"

Miki-Jane brightened up. Even Anna looked interested.

…

Ziva had been carrying Miki for the entire tour. She had taken her and Anna around the entire NCIS building. Well, almost all of it. Anna had noticed straight away that there were parts of the building into which only the most senior of the staff could go into.

And of course, they didn't go into the part of the building where Tatara's body would be. _Autopsy_. That's what it was called. She thought.

How did he look now? She wondered- was his face troubled? Shocked? Peaceful? Would she still recognise him as Tatara? Memories of another, blood-stained body floated unbidden into her mind, and she shook her head to make them go away.

Out of instinct and fear, she grabbed onto Ziva's sleeve.

"You OK?" Ziva asked.

"Home. " Anna said, feeling numb. She noticed they were going back to the building that Ziva and Agent Wilson had called 'The Playground.'

Ziva sighed softly. "We can't let you stay home, at least not by yourself. Lynnie will know where the two you are staying, but we will go back to get your things. "

Ziva put Miki down on a sofa in one of the playrooms within The Playground and sat on an armchair next to it. Anna perched on the arm of the sofa, guarding her little niece. The child did not stir.

Anna could feel Ziva's awkwardness from the silence, but made no move to correct this. She was fine with silence. Always had been.

"So…Miki –Jane , huh? That's a striking name. Where did it come from?" Ziva asked.

"_Tadaima!" Anna had called out, stepping into the house. She went into the living room to find Tatara and Emily poring over books. A closer inspection of the titles showed that they were all various baby-name books. Emily looked up and noticed Anna._

"_Anna!" Emily smiled. "We just found out today, the baby is a girl. " Emily patted her belly happily._

"_So now you need to decide a name. " Anna said. _

"_Yes…" Emily pulled a face._

"_No luck?" Anna guessed._

"_Emily and I have been debating names since lunchtime. We've narrowed it down to 6 choices. Each."_

_Anna winced. She could imagine it._

"_What are those names?" she had to know._

"_Julia, Geneviève, Lydia, Amelia , Stella , Grace." Tatara listed._

"_My choices were Yuki, Sachiko, Misaki, Suzume, Kiomi or Ayaka" Emily said._

_Anna raised an eyebrow. She would have expected it to be the other way around. _

"_Well, that helps. Any idea on how to narrow it down?"_

"_Nope!" Tatara and Emily answered simultaneously. _

_Anna mentally face-palmed, and went to dump her lunch box in the kitchen when Emily said._

"_I know, why don't you help us?"_

_Anna wondered how adding extra choices would help when Emily continued._

"_If in a couple of weeks we haven't narrowed it down, then we'll go with your choice. "_

_Anna thought, and then nodded. She had a task, and was looking forward to it. _

_For the next few days, she studied not only the names in the baby books, but also the names of everyone back in Shizume City, and those of the people she went to school with. She tried various combinations, tested how they sounded, and eventually, came up with a name she liked. _

"Tatara wanted to give her a name that was at least slightly American, so she wouldn't be ridiculed; Emily wanted her to have a Japanese name -to match the surname she was getting. Eventually, they realised they were getting nowhere, so I had the final say. I chose Miki because it's Japanese, plus it sounds as though it comes distantly from _Mikoto_, and the –rest came because I noticed most of the best double-barrelled first names are something-Jane. It's easy to say also. "Anna said simply.

Ziva tilted her head slightly, considering this. Then she smiled.

"That is nice. Did you know that in Jewish customs, if you wish to name a child after a dead relative in order to honour them, but you do not like the name itself, you can get away with choosing a name that begins with the same letter as the relatives?"

Anna blinked. Then shook her head slightly. Then smiled. At that point, Agent Lynnie DiNozzo came in. She went to Ziva, whispered something to her. Ziva nodded, and then spoke.

"We can go back to collect some clothes and things, but you'll be staying with me for the next few days, until the potential danger is past. You'll also have a few days off school. Both of you. You'll be coming here, with me, each day, and we're going to arrange with your teachers to have work sent up. "

Anna would have much rather gone home, but she didn't protest. She knew it wouldn't help.

…

"_Look, Anna, this is Izumo Kusanagi-san, he owns this place, and is a very nice man, but look, look here, this is Mikoto Suoh. He's the one who will take care of you now. "_

_4-year-old Anna blinked._

"_Why?" She had been told that Aunt Honami was no longer going to take care of her, but she didn't understand. _

_A shadow passed over Aunt Honami's face. Fleeting, but all the same, Anna noticed it. She turned her attention to the 2 people she was being introduced to. Izumo was blond, wearing (for some reason)purple sunglasses that obscured his eyes, but all the same had a friendly expression. She decided he was nice. _

_Then there was Mikoto._

_He was surly, standing casually with a cigarette in his mouth, with the reddest hair that Anna had ever seen. He did not look as though he wanted her to be there. And yet, she was drawn to him._

"_Anyway, Anna, I'll send over the rest of your things as soon as I can. Be good for Suoh-san and Kusanagi-san, OK?" And just like that, Aunt Honami was gone._

_And then Anna was standing by herself in a strange bar surrounded by strange people , and despite her desire to explore what would be her new home , she was overwhelmed by fear and confusion and started to cry. Not loudly , but she cried all the same._

_The sunglasses guy, Izumo, rushed to comfort her , whispering soothing words , picking her up and carrying her so that suddenly , everyone else did not seem so tall. This also had the effect of putting her a lot closer to Mikoto , and she could study his face in detail._

_That face simply spat out the cigarette , gave her an appraising look and then said._

"_Stop crying, kid. You're here now. HOMRA will be home now."_

_And although her mind was too young to fully appreciate his words , she stopped crying , just like that_

The first words that Mikoto Suoh had ever said to her rang in her mind now as she stepped into the threshold of Ziva's apartment. She was instantly struck by the colour-coordination of the place , and also found herself wondering: _how many more places will I have to call home? Which one will ever be truly home?_

Miki, on the other hand , had no such reservations. She scanned the room with bright eyes , then put her bag down ,unzipped it , reached into it , and pulled out a photo of Emily. Then , she went to the TV , and put the photo on top.

"Is this OK, Agent Ziva? Can I put it here? Then I can say hi to Mummy before we leave every day. "

Ziva nodded

"it is fine , Miki."

"Yay!" Miki smiled "That picture was taken ages ago , when I was still in Mummy's tummy!" Miki informed them.

Ziva smiled.

"I have some leftover pasta in the fridge-will that be OK for dinner?" she asked. When Anna nodded a yes , Ziva continued "I can show you the spare bedroom now , so you can clean up and maybe get changed before eating?"

Anna nodded again, and then herded Miki out of the living room so Ziva could show them the room.

After partial unpacking, dinner, finding a picture of Tatara to accompany the one of Emily on top of Ziva's TV, brushing teeth, washing, and changing, Anna was tired. Miki fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, but Anna could not sleep straight away. Mikoto's words kept floating around her head.

"_Stop crying, kid. You're here now."_

She was dry eyed, despite everything. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. And wouldn't. She was the last link to Mikoto and everything else she had ever loved back in Japan. She was here now , and this wasn't the end.

She would be brave. That is what she promised herself when she finally fell asleep.

**OK , so not much happened here, but I felt getting some insight into Anna was important for the story–especially for the events in the next chapter, where more will happen.**

**Please leave feedback.**


	3. Almost Cold

**So , here it is , the 2****nd**** chapter. Enjoy ^^**

"Tell me that you have something! Anything!" Lynnie said in exasperation as she came into the squadroom.

"His phone records –both home and cell -don't show anything unusual. Just the usual calls to us, Anna, and various parents of kids that Miki-Jane goes to school with. "Murray said.

"Abby's still digging through the laptop, but I checked his emails, and again, nothing unusual. Same with bank records. "Wilson added.

Lynnie turned to Cray, and arched an eyebrow.

"I…I um….I have nothing." Cray said sheepishly. Lynnie sighed.

"In other words, Totsuka's gonna become a cold case real fast."

Her team looked at her cluelessly and a little sadly too. Lynnie sighed again.

"I'm going down to see if Jimmy's found anything, and I'll probably check up on Abby and Bonnie too. Keep searching until then."

With that, Lynnie left and headed to autopsy.

…

Jimmy covered up the body, and went to ask Totsuka to start writing up the report that would be later given to Lynnie when he remembered that the body lying on the table _was _Totsuka.

He shook his head sadly.

"Totsuka, what did you get yourself into? "He asked absently.

At that point, Lynnie came in.

"Taking after Ducky now?" she asked. Jimmy turned to her.

"Well…." He found he had no words left.

Lynnie's face softened.

"Oh, Jintai. " Lynnie enveloped Jimmy into a hug, and he smiled inwardly at the strange nickname Lynnie had given him back when she was still in high school.

Lynnie let go, and regarded him.

"So, what do you got?"

Jimmy talked her though the obvious-shot once, bled to death, some minor bruises from when he hit the ground . Again, no new information. Then he showed her the tattoo on the back of Totsuka's shoulder.

"It's not a design I've seen before. I think maybe gang related, although that doesn't fit with Totsuka's image, does it? I sent a picture of it up to Abby; hopefully she'll find it on a data base somewhere."

Lynnie nodded.

"Gang related….nothing we've found in any of Tatara's records suggest that…..Oh I don't know!"

"No luck in finding motives or anything? " Jimmy guessed

"Yeah."

"Perhaps you're looking in the wrong places. Not that I know where the right ones are. "

"Hmm…see you later, Jintai."

When Lynnie had left, Jimmy busied himself for a few minutes, pulling together the first parts of a report, then cleaning his tools when he became aware of someone watching him. He turned, and saw a doll-like child standing at the door regarding him.

"Yikes!" the child showed no reaction to his surprise. Instead, she just came in and headed straight for Totsuka's body . She stood next to it.

Still startled, Jimmy studied the child , noticed her long white hair , wide pink-grey eyes , slightly Gothic Lolita clothes and a light bulb went off in his head.

"Anna?"

Anna nodded without looking at him. She continued to look over Totsuka's body.

"You shouldn't be here, Anna. " Jimmy tried.

At that, Anna looked at him. Her gaze was intense, and Jimmy was struck by the weird contrast between her actual age (17), the age she looked (13 at the most) and the age that the look in her eyes suggested (centuries old).

"I've seen dead bodies before. "She told him seriously.

Jimmy nodded, trying hard not to talk to this girl as though she was a little kid.

"Shouldn't you be upstairs?" he asked.

"I finished my school work. And I'm the oldest and nearest relative left."

Ah. Jimmy started to figure out what Anna might possibly be here for.

"We can't release the body yet, you know. But no-one's going to do anything without asking you first. I'm sure of it. "

Anna gave a slight nod.

"I'm going to give him a funeral like Mikoto's. Because he was the only true HOMRA member left. "

Jimmy had the sense not to ask what HOMRA was or who Mikoto might have been, but he did ask

"What was that funeral like then?"

But Anna had already left.

Jimmy shook his head in amazement.

…

3 more days passed, and there were no new leads. Anna and Miki-Jane were still at NCIS , hanging around in the playground , waiting for the all-clear to go home , and the younger girl was getting cranky , whereas Anna had developed a habit of wandering around and silently appearing from nowhere , scaring various members of the team and then some. The only person who never jumped was Gibbs. Cray and Murray had taken to throwing paper planes at each other to communicate –they were that bored.

"Seriously, you're worse than Lynnie's father!" Wilson yelled at them at one point.

The 2 males just sighed. At that point Lynnie walked in. She surveyed the mess around the desks.

"At least clear that up, if you can't find any leads. "She snapped.

"That's hardly fair. " Murray pointed out.

Lynnie sighed, rubbed her eyes, and then went to sit at her desk. Wilson was right. Cray went to tidy up all the papers. Wilson went to help too, but Murray sat there.

"Murray!" Cray protested.

Murray rolled his eyes.

"Fine!"

The three looked like pre-schoolers as they tidied, Lynnie thought, leaning back. What now? She mentally went through everything that they'd looked at so far .

"Boss, anything we should take another look at? " Cray asked. The tidying had finished.

"Haven't you looked at everything? Twice, I believe?" Lynnie was feeling pessimistic.

"Yeah well…."

"Dear Team, you realise that there is absolutely NOTHING LEFT TO DO? You realise that your Tatara Totsuka will officially become a cold case. Yours sincerely, The Cold Hard Truth Association. "

The team were used to Lynnie's strange rants, so they tended to take it in their stride, but this one baffled them.

"Never mind. " at that point , the phone rang.

"Hello? Oh , no . I haven't checked my Emails. Why?"

Some listening and then-

"For real? Should we come down there-oh , that would be in the email. We'll watch up here. Give my thanks to Abby , okay Bon?"

Lynnie hung up and grinned.

"Cray , I'm going to forward a video to you. Put it up on the big screen. "

"A video…oh!"

Murray was round-eyed

"The video…you mean the one he was filming before he died?"

Quickly , Cray put it on to the screen.

The shot was overlooking a city skyline, mainly the River park. The fact that this was a night time shot made everything look green. The railing was in front of Tatara , as if he had just come onto the roof. There was someone standing there , back turned , looking out . Youngish , possibly male because of the short hair.

"Hello." Tatara's voice said from behind the camera. "Are you hear to watch the sun rise? I am , but I'm a bit early. Oh well , the night view is pretty cool too , no?"

The person at the balcony turned around, and slowly became closer. Not because the person was moving , but because Tatara was moving , and that meant the camera was too. Now they could see the person was around the age of a high school student , with white hair and possibly amber eyes , and delicate features. Not too unlike Anna. He appeared to be wearing a dark unbuttoned blazer over a white shirt and dark skinny leg trousers. He didn't speak.

Tatara's disembodied voice laughed.

"Oh , I didn't introduce myself, did I ? I'm Tatara Totsuka. What's your name? "

The other person spoke. But in a different language. Whatever he was saying, the guy sounded deranged , and seemed to have delusions of self-grandeur . Tatara's voice tried to say something in the same language, but the other person pulled out a gun and fired. A moan, and then a violent clatter as the camera fell , spinning slightly. The last shot was that of the floor, a pool of blood growing.

The video ended, the team blinked.

"Well." Wilson grasped at words , but failed to find them. "Well. "

Lynnie stood up.

"I'm going to find Abby, ask her more. In the meantime," she gestured at the screen. "Do what you must. "

…

Once again , Anna had completed the schoolwork that had been sent over , and she was bored. She looked through the book selection, tried the TV , but couldn't find anything. Checking on Miki (who was perfectly fine and playing with Ziva) , she snuck out of The Playground and into the main building.

First, she headed to the squadroom, where she knew the team looking into Tatara's death would be. She was just about to go and get their attention when her eyes were drawn to the screen.

Stifling her gasp of recognition, she hid and eavesdropped.

"We can't really do anything else, can we? I mean, we don't even know what language the psycho's speaking!" A male voice said.

"Use your head, Murray! Obviously the guy is speaking Japanese! Tatara's first language?" a voice Anna recognised as Agent Wilson replied.

"Oh."

A third voice then mimicked the speaker they were all talking about.

"You want to tell me how your mimicry helps, Cray?" Wilson asked.

"Well….if we bump into a Japanese guy, we don't have to refer back to the video. "The agent known as Cray responded.

"What we need is a translator. " Wilson decided. "Murray , email your translator friend over at legal. See if there's anyone who can help us."

"And who made you the boss…?" Murray wondered, doing it anyway. At least, Anna figured that he was , because she chose not to listen anymore , running down to Abby's lab.

When she got there, Abby and Bonnie , Abby's friendly African-American assistant turned.

"Oh! Anna, wasn't expecting you! Bored again?" Bonnie asked

Anna nodded , and went to a chair , climbing up.

Abby grinned.

"Look at you. I might have to steal your clothes again. They're amazing. "

Having heard a variation of this each time she's bumped into Abby, Anna simply smiled as she settled in the chair.

"So…I guess you're just gonna have to watch us work. As you know , we're pretty busy. " Bonnie said. As the woman who was going to take over Abby's lab after Abby finally retired in a years' time , she was friendly and unfazed by most things.

"That's fine. " Anna said

6 Caf-Pow's later , Abby realied she needed to go to the toilet.

"Damn!" then she looked around "Where'd Bonnie go?"

"To buy lunch." Anna said.

"Oh." Abby hopped, thinking. Then:

"Anna, will you be good and babysit the lab. I'll be really, really quick!"

Anna nodded, and Abby took off.

Anna sat for a while , the video image and the words the person on the video uttered spinning around in her head , thinking that this was worse than she thought , and these agents had no clue what they'd be getting into.

Then, an idea formed in her head.

Quickly checking nobody was around, she headed to the computer, and pulled her USB stick out of her pocket , plugging it into the computer .Still checking that nobody's sneak up on her , she searched for the video.

5 minutes later, she was sitting normally , USB in her pocket , computer looking untouched.

At Ziva's apartment that night, while Ziva was making dinner and Miki was having a bath , Anna went on the computer , checking her Facebook and listening to music on YouTube. Then, making sure nobody walked in on her , she logged into an email account she hadn't touched for a while.

Once it was done , she turned off the computer .She had done what she could. Now , all that was left was to see where this could go.

**K Project fans should be familiar with the video referenced here, although the anime version is a bit different for obvious reasons . If you remember what HOMRA did with that , that's close to what Anna has done here . To those who haven't watched the anime , all will be explained soon. **

**Anyway , I chucked in a random book reference –can you find it , and guess the book it comes from ? =^.^=**

**Please leave feedback **


	4. The Seven Kings: Part 1

**And the book reference was…**_**Feeling Sorry for Celia **_**by Jaclyn Moriaty. It's a very funny book.  
Anyway , here's the third chapter. Enjoy ^^**

**A quick note: the names of the Black and White kings are completely made up. I don't believe they even had names in the first place in the anime , so I figured it'd be fine to give them made up names.**

**Another quick note: The NCIS director in this story is half-made up. Do any of you remember that season 7 episode where the team were working on a kidnap case had interns assigned to them , and one of them initially chose the NCIS internship because it was the only one not on a Friday but after watching the team work on the case got inspired and took a full internship? I remember his first name was Conrad so I gave him a surname and made him director . **

_As chaos reigned, she slipped away unnoticed._

_After some wandering, she decided she wanted to make a snowman, but couldn't find anywhere that was good enough , so she kept walking around. _

_She saw the bloodstains on the snow before she noticed anything else._

_The shock of bright red on white made her trip over in surprise. Shivering and dusting herself off , she sat up , suddenly wanting to go back to Izumo. Then she noticed the feet, encased in familiar shoes, then she noticed the rest of the body , and her mind put everything she had seen up until that point together._

_Her screams brought both Reds and Blues running._

"Guess what, Anna?"

Anna looked at Agent Gibbs, who had Miki sitting on his lap.

"If nothing happens, we might let you both go back to school." He said.

Anna looked at Ziva , who nodded.

"So that means…..we can go back home too?"

"No, not yet. The risk isn't completely gone , but we figured that we can still have the protection detail if you are at school , and you'd come back here afterwards before I take you home. We've done things like this before." Ziva said.

"Other children have had dead parents too? And they had to be protected too?" Miki asked.

"Yes. "

"So when are we going back to school?" Anna asked

"Does Monday sound good?" Gibbs replied

Anna smiled and nodded. Finally , life would regain some semblance of normality.

…

Cray pulled out the free coffee cup he had got the last time he'd had to do a coffee run for the team , took its lid off , then set it down on the table. Then , he took the carton of cranberry juice and the small bottle of milk and proceeded to pour both into the empty coffee cup. He sued a straw to mix it all and then proceeded to drink it while going through Totsuka's internet history again , ignoring the disgusted reactions that came from both Wilson and Murray.

Taking a sip of his Cranberry-juice-milk drink , he proceeded to go through the family email account. Instantly he noticed the 3 new emails . Strange. Perhaps the message was for Anna , or Miki-Jane. Clicking on them , he read , and his curiosity grew. He scrolled to the original message.

"Holy crap!" He went straight to the outbox . Read the message.

"Holy Crap!" he said again. At that point , Lynnie walked in , listening to music .

"Boss , boss….LYNNIE!" Lynnie took out her earphones

"You might want to have a look at this. " he told her.

…

Both Lynnie and Cray expected that Anna'd be at least slightly reluctant to reveal her motives for stealing a copy of the video and sending it to various people in Japan , but right from the start , she answered all their questions.

The message, printed out, was placed in front of her. It read:

"Hi , I …Um how should I say this. Tatara's dead. He died almost a week ago. Murdered. And guess who did it? The Colourless King. The video attached has all the proof .Somehow, he followed us to America. Why he waited 7 years, I do not know, but he really doesn't want the other Kings to rise again. You'll notice in the video he has Isana Yashiro's face-IT ISN'T HIM. Anyway , could you do what Mikoto would do –circulate this around Shizume City , and also , look out for Yashiro Isana and his sister-they are most likely in danger. And BE CAREFUL. You guys may have not been permanent HOMRA members , but he may target one of you. Take care , Anna."

The message was also written in Japanese , as Anna had circulated it in both languages.

"So…it seems you know a thing or two that we don't."

"Yes. The Colourless King is responsible."

"Does this 'Colourless King' have a name?"

"The last Colourless King was Ichigen Miwa. He died 11 years ago. Nobody actually knows the true identity of the current King , but he , like all other Colourless Kings , can disguise himself as whoever he'd like ."

"So…he is a known criminal?"

"Well …whether the Colourless King is good or bad changes over the ages. The very first one was evil , which is why they often say that he isn't a true King , and that Infact there are only 6 Kings. Of course , this isn't something I expect you to understand. "There it was the first trace of defiance.

"That doesn't explain why you stole evidence and sent it to the other side of the world ."

"Because this side of the world won't be able to cope. You have no inkling of what might happen. This investigation is better off in Shizume City , where at least we know what we're in for."

"Tatara Totsuka died on American soil!" Cray cut in.

"The death has nothing to do with American soil. It has everything to do with Shizume City, and The 7 Kings. "

"Kings! This sounds like a fantasy, some dumb roleplaying game like the ones Murray plays!" Lynnie shot Cray a _look_, and he quietened.

"This is why." Anna said softly, unperturbed. "Your reality …it cannot accommodate legends. To you, legend is legend only. It cannot be real. For us, the two overlap, in all walks of life. The Legend of the Seven Kings is real-I mean, like all legends, there are parts exaggerated and such, but it _is _real, and only those from Shizume City can understand. It is the only way we can really get justice for Tatara."

What could they say to that? She seemed to really believe her words, despite the fact they made no sense. And it wasn't like she was trying to hinder the investigation.

"Ok." Lynnie said "Ok. I think….I think for now we'll let this go. But don't you do anything like this ever again. Despite what you think, we, too , are trying to get justice."

Anna seemed contrite as she apologised.

Cray decided to try another line of questioning, to see if anything more coherent came up.

"Who's….Yashiro Isana? And his sister?"

"Oh , Isana-san . He's quite possibly the next Silver King. At least , that is what Tatara said when they first met. His sister is called Mari , but everyone calls her Neko"

"And he might be in danger because….?"

"He might be the _Silver king_." Anna rolled her eyes . "The first , and most important of all of them , where the Colourless King is the least. Not to mention , the Colourless King managed to disguise himself as Isana-san when he killed Tatara."

They gave up.

"Ok , you can go for now. We'll have more questions. Go , go back to your niece. "

…

"She…she seems very in control. You've noticed her emotionlessness , right? I think that is her , suppressing her emotions."

After the interrogation , Cray and Lynnie had gone to Jimmy to get an evaluation into Anna's character , so they could decide whether to take her seriously or not.

"Why?" Cray asked.

"I think she has gone through a lot. She often makes references to a violent death-possibly plural , that she has witnessed. I think the suppression is her way of functioning , without snapping . I'd be willing to say that this is even truer now, as she has the child, her last family member, to think of. However, this doesn't mean she has no emotions. I say she feels deeply, and constantly. "

"Could she be disconnected from reality, in anyway at all, like a psychosis?" Lynnie asked

"I….I think she sees a lot more than what's right in front of her….but she's a perceptive girl. Observant. She's learnt to be aware of her surroundings, to analyse everything she sees before coming to a conclusion on it. Her repression means she doesn't let her emotions get the better of her. So, no, I do not believe that Anna is insane, delusional, or psychotic. "

Cray let out a long, long breath.

"Sounds like the girl was telling the truth, boss." He said.

"I know. I know. "

Jimmy was confused. "The truth about what?"

Lynnie filled him in. When she had finished, Jimmy thought. Then he said

"Well…Anna says things about someone called Mikoto or something, and also to something known as HOMRA-I think that's a gang or something. Perhaps it is connected. I wouldn't know though. "

"We've come across the name Mikoto before. " Lynnie said hesitantly.

"Looks like you've got yourself a few leads. Won't hurt to follow them." Jimmy said.

"You're right. "

…

"Mikoto Suoh. He didn't die of the cancer, he was stabbed. " Murray looked pleased with his revelation.

"Tell us more , moron!" Cray prompted him , sipping another cranberry-juice-milk drink.

"Some incident , in the Ashinaka High School on Ashinaka Island , Shizume City , Japan . Mikoto , and a bunch of guys known collectively as a street gang called HOMRA were there. I can't find anything on why , but it basically resulted in Scepter4-that's like their police/law enforcement company-leader Reisi Munakata driving a sword through his belly. "

Wilson winced, then added her bit.

"The name HOMRA comes from a bar , owned by an Izumo Kusanagi , Mikoto's high school friend and right hand man. And they weren't really a street gang. They were disadvantaged kids, high school dropouts , orphans , tragic cases , that kind of thing – they all seemed to gravitate there and get back on their feet. Not your typical youth trust but it helped. Some even made HOMRA their personal residence , and so they became members. At the time of Mikoto's death, there were 15 permanent members , counting Totsuka , but not counting Anna. A year after, HOMRA-the bar , not the gang –burnt down. Totsuka and Anna were the only survivors. "

"And so they came here to rebuild their lives. " Lynnie mused "Was the fire accidental, or what? "

"Arson. And guess who is credited as being responsible?"

"Who? "

"The Colourless King. "

"This gets stranger and stranger." Lynnie said "What did you find about the 7 Kings we keep hearing about.

"This is right up Abby's street. " Cray said. Lynnie nodded. She didn't need him to explain that the information finding had therefore been turned over to Abby.

Wilson cleared her throat "there are a few things I found out though. "she made sure that the rest of the team were paying attention, then she continued "Mikoto Suoh was believed to be the last Red King , the 3rd king , and Reisi Munakata , who is still alive , would be the Blue King-that's the 4th king in the scheme of things. " she tucked a curly strand of hair behind her ears and continued "The Black and White Kings-that's the 5th and 6th - are Takeshi Lin and Harumi Endou respectively , The Gold King, the 2nd King is a really , really old guy called Daikaku Doku….something-or-other , I haven't a clue how to pronounce it. He's head of some computer firm called Usagi….which apparently means rabbit. Anyway , he used to be a Lieutenant in World War two…and was friends with a German scientist , Adolf K. Weismann , who came to Shizume City on some confidential research project –anyway , his older sister , Claudia , was also in the army , and she died. After that Weismann disappeared. It is rumoured he lives as a recluse of sorts in an air balloon that sometimes circles Shizume City, but most believe he is dead . He was the last known Silver King. "

"The 1st King. " Cray stated

"Yes." Lynnie and Wilson said together.

Lynnie sighed , wondering what to do with this information.

"I'm going to talk to the Director. You guys go home. Its's been a long day"

She was able to get straight into Director Conrad Nelson's office. He was on the phone, but finished up his call the moment he saw her.

"It's always hard when investigating one of your own, isn't it?" he said.

"Hmmmm…I need some advice, Conrad."

Conrad smirked.

"Since when did you need my advice? Don't you have a fully-fledged gut by now?"

"I think even Gibbs' gut would be baffled by this one. " then , she told him everything. She hoped so , at least. There was too much of it.

When she finished , Conrad nodded to himself , then gave her an idea on what to do next.

…

The next day , Lynnie arrived carrying a bundle of paper that Anna had given her:

_Lynnie looked at the papers , all stapled together , with the words 'For Miki' written in the front_

"_what is this?"_

"_It's the story of the 7 Kings. Tatara wrote it , he was going to give it to Miki , as a way of explaining his side of her background. There are illustrations , and it's written in the style of a kid book. But…"_

_Lynnie nodded._

"_Thanks. "_

Murray and Wilson were already there. Cray appeared to be running late.

Lynnie threw the bundle of papers at Wilson's desk.

"hey!" Wilson picked it up . "Lynnie?"

"When Cray gets here , you'll both be setting off to Japan . Shizume City , to be exact. You can read that on the plane ."


	5. The Seven Kings: Part 2

**I should probably warn you, most of this chapter concerns the legend of the seven kings , and Wilson and Cray getting used to Shizume City and starting up the Japan-side of the investigation. So not that much happens. Even so, I hope it is still an enjoyable chapter that gives an insight into part of this story's universe. **

"Wake up Crayfish, the plane's landed. "

Cray blinked and groaned, stretching "Don't call me that. What time is it?"

Wilson checked her watch.

"Back home it's 6am…It's 8 pm here. "she informed him. "Come on, we have to get off the plane. "

As they left the plane , then waited to collect their luggage and go through security checks , Wilson thought over the story Tatara had written-the stories of the seven kings.

_At first, Shizume City was simply known as _Shizume_, and was ruled by a single king and his royal clan. This king was known as the Silver King –his name was Gin, which means _Silver_, and he was a good and fine king, despite being only 18 when he first came to the throne. He lived a long, long life, proudly protecting and ruling over his citizens. So when he finally died, after many decades of bliss, he was mourned deeply by the citizens of _Shizume. _To them, he was irreplaceable. So, to honour his memory , it was decreed that all future kings would have the title of _The Silver King.

_This worked fine , for many generations. Each Silver King served well, and the city grew bigger . Infact , it flourished , becoming successful and rich and happy. But eventually , it grew to be so large that one King was not enough to ensure harmony. The happiness started to decline as a result. Small but devastating fights broke out all over the city. Things were no longer the way they had been._

_So what could be done? The current King , a young woman called Rika ,thought , then went to visit her childhood friend Hiro, who lived up in the mountains . _

"_Aren't you busy ?" Hiro said upon seeing her. "Doesn't matter either way , it's great to see Rika-Chan after all this time!"_

"_It's good to see you too , Hiro-kun . "_

_The two friends chatted for a while , drinking cups of tea and eating bowls of steaming noodles. _

"_Hiro-kun." Rika said eventually in her official voice "I have something important to ask you."_

"_Ask away , King." _

"_Would you be willing to come out of the mountains and become another King?"_

_Hiro spluttered in surprise at that , but he did take the request seriously. He told Rika that he'd have to think it over carefully. Rika left , but felt dejected , thinking there was no hope left. _

_Two days later , Hiro showed up at the castle. _

"_I'll do it." Was all he said in explanation. Rika was elated. Hiro had gold eyes , and people who knew him always said he had an aura of gold around him , so he became the Gold King. _

_Hiro , the Gold King , had a knack for making things , so he ended up overseeing technology , and this is one of the things that has stayed the same over the ages. _

"NCIS Special Agent Wilson , Agent Cray?"

Wilson went back to the present , looking at the woman who had just approached them. She had mousy hair , tied back really ,really severely. The effect of this was to make her features cold and sharp , and the tightness of her blue uniform made the size of her cleavage look unreal. Wilson hid these thoughts. A glance at Cray reassured her that he , too , was being civil.

"That's us."

"I'm Seri Awashima. I work with Reisi Munakata at Scepter4. I was asked to come meet you here , and take you to your hotel."

"I…um." Wilson was surprised. Sure , they were going to need help from Scepter4 , but they had a phrase-book that had been made by Lynnie's brother and his wife –he was fluent in many languages , and she was Japanese . So she'd figured they'd be able to find their way around .

"Munakata-san wants to make sure you are utterly safe and comfortable…he is taking this case…rather personally."

"I see. "

As Awashima drove them to the hotel, they kept up a conversation. Cray updated her on what they had found out so far, and in return, she informed them that the video Anna had circulated hadn't become viral. It had, however, provoked interest, as the face was that of Yashiro Isana, who had been missing since the incident at Ashinaka High School 8 years ago. They also discovered that Ashinaka High School's campus took up an entire island.

When they got to the hotel, Awashima told them she'd take them to Scepter4 Headquarters at about 9 the next morning. She then left her work mobile number with them and left.

Wilson and Cray then set about getting their hotel rooms-two rooms next to each other, with a door in between, so they could easily put together information and complete the investigation.

"You going down to the hotel restaurant?" Cray asked before they went into their rooms?

"Nah. Might order room service, and then go to bed. "

"Right, see you tomorrow then , Wilson."

"Goodnight, Cray."

Wilson showered , changed , then ordered a burger via room service. When it arrived , she sat at the table , eating it , and thought over the rest of the story Tatara had written.

_How , precisely , the next 4 kings came about is unknown –it was just one of those things that evolved the same way the world has . First , there was the Red King , spotted after he saved 15 children from a fire that broke out on a farm after a fight , then the Blue King , who happened to be the twin brother of the Red King-although loyal to each other , their similarity often led to clashes , and at first , the city wondered if this was the right decision. But the Silver and Gold Kings, as well as their vassals, were able to confirm that these were indeed the Red and Blue Kings. Nobody questioned the powers of a King or their vassal. The first Black King was a travelling storyteller who happened to come by Shizume one evening, and the first White King was a woman from a relatively well-off family._

_No other Kings were discovered, and so it was eventually believed that there would only ever be 6 Kings. Each of these 6 kings had a speciality, and all answered to the Silver King, and soon all was calm , the way it had been._

_The 7__th__ King was something nobody had expected. It had been 4 generations since the 6__th__ King had been discovered, and the western side of the city was unsettled due to the death of the Blue King in a sporting accident. So all 6 vassals were out on a search for the 5__th__ Blue King. _

_The youngest of these vassals, that of the Black King ,was only 6 years old, so his duties were somewhat relaxed , and he spent this particular summer day playing in his master's garden while his mother was inside cooking and his elder sister , Ami , kept an eye on him. _

_Ami was an observant girl , so she noticed immediately when her brother Tatsuya's playing took on a pained , serious look._

"_Tatsuya?"_

"_Onee-Chan , I can sense a flame. It's watching me " his voice sounded as though he was hypnotised. _

_Ami stiffened . She knew that what meant. Tatsuya was describing the aura of a King , that only other kings-or vassals like him , could feel. She tried to stay calm , remembering what the Black King had told her and her mother when they'd discovered Tatsuya's powers. _

"_Try and hold onto it, picture it. What colour is it? Blue?" she asked. _

"_Not….blue."Tatsuya started to say , frowning "No…colour."_

"_Eh?" Ami barely had time to comprehend that statement before Tatsuya wandered into some bushes. When she registered his absence , she jumped up. _

"_Tatsuya? Tatsuya!" she looked all over the garden , and was just about to search some bushes that bordered a farmer's land when she heard screams. _

_The screams also brought their mother out , so the two rushed over and discovered Tatsuya , lying still on the ground. There was a strange man bending over him ._

_The Black King was called for, and the stranger was arrested. It was soon confirmed that this man had the powers of a King, but not like any that they had seen before. It was also confirmed that he had murdered Tatsuya , for no other reason than the fact he was a vassal. The man was dubbed the Colourless king , and kept in jail until his death._

_The people hoped that this colourless king was just a fluke , but this was not so. The next one was a highway robber, but the one after was a kind and respected teacher , who never did wrong by anyone . And from this , the people realised the Colourless King was fickle , interchangeable , and so they acknowledged the possibility of a 7__th__ King. _

_Over time, as the world became more modern , the kings faded into the background , and the government as it is known today took over the official running of the city. But the Kings , and their vassals , have remained an important part of Shizume City's stability. _

All night long, Esther Wilson dreamt of this story , and of olden times , royalty , magic , children ,betrayal and the building of a city .

…

"Tatara Totsuka…he was a good man. Haven't seen him for a long time though. I regret that though."

"You are aware…of the video?" Cray asked.

It was the next morning, and the two agents were in Reisi Munakata's office. Hovering on the side-lines were Seri Awashima, and a young man who had been introduced to them as Saruhiko Fushimi.

Reisi pushed his glasses up a little, and nodded sternly.

"Yes. We talked to the 3 men who were responsible for making it mainstream , and they all said they'd been sent it by young Anna-Chan. " Cray noticed Fushimi twitch at the mention of Anna. "We didn't take any action apart from removing the video from public view. "

"That's fine. What about this ….Yashiro Isana?"

"His vassal , Kuroh Yatogami , and his little sister Neko still search for him –all the kings and their clans are on the lookout too , him being the Silver King and all, but no luck , I am afraid. "

"We think he might be, or at least have been, in America." Wilson interjected, and then went on to explain everything they knew.

Reisi nodded.

"And you think it might have something to do with the Colourless King? That is a grave, grave accusation. The city is already in panic mode concerning him. He is the one we believe responsible for the HOMRA fire. "Reisi handed him a file. "That might help-it's the case report. With translation notes "

Cray looked at it briefly, unconsciously starting to memorise the list of the dead –_Izumo Kusanagi, Misaki Yata, Rikio Kamamoto, Eric Sutr, Chitose You …_

"Thanks."

The 3 went on discussing possibilities, and eventually the two agents stood up to leave. Reisi shook Wilson and Cray's respectively.

"I hope we'll be able to cooperate on this investigation." he told them.

"I should think so ", Cray said "We both want the same thing."

Reisi nodded, and saw them out.

They were able to make their own way back to the hotel when Cray felt someone following him. He turned around, ready to pull his gun out.

"What the…?" Wilson turned too. Both were surprised to find the man-Fushimi- from Scepter4 following them. Cray forgot about the gun.

"Fushimi-san?"

Fushimi didn't look bothered by the fact that he had startled two American federal agents.

"I just needed to tell you something. I didn't want to do so there. It is…awkward." The sentence was delivered in a mixture of English and Japanese, but lucky for them they had begun memorising the phrase books, so even if they were not able to speak, they'd understand.

Cray raised an eyebrow as if saying 'go on'

"Look , this isn't to help you , I just don't want anything to come up and cause trouble later , so I'll tell you now –before working for Munakata , I was a HOMRA member."

Cray blinked. That was the last thing he expected to hear.

"I'm sorry-"he began to say, but Fushimi cut him off.

"I'm not bothered. I have to admit , I wonder about how Anna'll be , she was a timid thing when I last saw her , but apart from that I really don't care. I just don't want to stir up the past. "

"I understand. " Wilson cut in before Cray could make a comment about his callousness.

Fushimi nodded, and walked away.

"Well." Cray had nothing else to say "Well. "

"There's more going on than you give credit for. " Wilson said , as though she was pointing something out.

"Eh?"

"Never mind."

…

They spent the rest of the time emailing back and forth with the rest of their team back home. They hadn't found much , but it was a start.

Eventually , Wilson and Cray decided to meet up in the hotel restaurant and look over the HOMRA fire case notes , as their current theory was based around this Colourless King attempting to completely finish off HOMRA.

When their plates had been piled with food , the discussion began.

"So…this was 8 years ago?" Cray started .

"Yes , December 8th of that year. An exact year and a day after Mikoto Suoh had died. "

"They were all at home. Izumo Kusanagi was closing up the bar. His last customers describe him as 'classy and courteous, as per normal' , so nothing seemed amiss. Anna was sitting on the bar counter, playing with some marbles , and Totsuka was at a knitting class – I know, weird , right?"

"So we can rule out a murder-suicide on Kusanagi's part?"

"You spotted that, huh? Yes, the whole clan was devastated , but I get the feeling they were survivors. "Wilson replied

"it wasn't Totsuka, he had that alibi , and witnesses say that when he finally arrived the first thing he did was rush into the bar .And he came out with Anna . Both of them were choking, but both were alive. , and the first thing he did was leave Anna with a female bystander , told her to call an ambulance , and made to go back in before the building collapsed and he was dragged away."

"What made them suspect the Colourless King?"

"Apparently he was the one who deluded Mikoto Suoh into thinking that his clan was in danger –that lead to the Ashinaka incident. That doesn't really matter. The point is, witnesses saw someone with the same physical appearance as Yashiro Isana at the scene …but they said something was off about him. The one thing that is permanent about all the Colourless Kings are their mastery of the art of disguise. Not to mention the petrol bombs clearly indicate arson"

"Right." Wilson munched some mashed potato "let me read through."

Cray handed her the case report. Instantly , she hit on something they'd missed.

"After the Isana sighting, there were reports of a 'thin man' , possibly the real Colourless King , hanging around the place , just watching it , as though waiting for someone to turn up. "

"He was trying to find Tatara and Anna. " Cray figured out.

"there's a good chance the guy is still in the US , so we need to up Anna's protection?"

"What about the little one?"

"Miki-Jane's barely heard of HOMRA, let alone the 7 Kings. I doubt she'd be considered a threat. Even so …"

Cray nodded.

"Anyway , let's ask Awashima-san if we can go back to the crime scene tomorrow."

"Okay."

…**.**

"This….this is the book? That Tatara Totsuka made?"

Wilson had photocopied Tatara's story book to give to Seri Awashima.

"Yes , he made it for his daughter. He did the illustrations too."

A lost look appeared over Awashima's face. It was her day off , and so she was wearing smart but casual clothes and her hair was down , which had the effect of making her features look a lot more gentle. As a consequence, her emotions looked a lot more intense.

"Izumo would have loved to meet that child. "

Wilson raised an eyebrow at the first-name terms , but held back on asking about it.

At that point , they arrived at the burnt down and boarded up . Various photographs , flowers and written notes were stuck on the boards.

"Tributes?"

"Hmmm…" Awashima stepped forward to look at another notice. This one was different from the others-more official for oen thing , and printed rather than handwritten

"Apparently this site will be made into a school soon. " Awashima informed them . Then her attention was caught by something , and without saying anything , she went around to the back of the building.

Confused , Cray and Wilson followed.

When they got there , they saw Awashima talking-or berating –two young people. The first was a tall , slim , almost feminine looking man with angular features and silky black hair in a ponytail . He was dressed in a long black coat over a white shirt and slim-cut trousers and under a grey scarf. The other was a woman with a somewhat feline face , one green and one blue eye , long messy pink hair that flowed down to her knees . She was wearing a long pale yellow jumper with a large bow on it , matching boots , pink cardigan and not much else . She was holding a deep red umbrella as though her life depended on it.

Cray and Wilson were able to decipher parts of the conversation.

"….shouldn't be here…."

"….Shiro ….must be…. No harm in trying…."

"I'm … Shiro's umbrella …. Shiro….."

Eventually , Awashima remembered them .

"These two are Kuroh Yatogami , otherwise known as the Black Dog and former Vassal of the previous Colourless King , Ichigen Miwa , and Mari Isana , Yashiro Isana's sister."

"Neko!" the girl protested , having twigged that she was being introduced.

Awashima gave a ghost of a smile

"Yes , she likes to be called Neko. " then she lowered her voice "She isn't a biological sibling , but that's a story for another time. " then Awashima turned to Kuroh and Neko , and introduced Cray and Wilson to them.

Neko made another protest. Awashima replied , then translated .

"She thinks you'll arrest Yashiro Isana. She doesn't trust you. "

"Tell her that we know he is being framed. We want to help. And get justice for Totsuka. "

Awashima was in the process of relaying this when two phones rang.

Awashima , Wilson and Cray immediately checked. Wilson's phone was the only one whose phone wasn't ringing.

The two answered their phones , and for the 3 people who were waiting there , the situation was tense.

Eventually , after an age of waiting , they hung up,.

"Well?" Wilson asked.

Clearly the news was of importance , as Cray and Awashima ended up giving the news in unison

"Yashiro Isana has been found."

**A cliff-hanger ^^ I'll try not to keep you waiting for too long. Although I have a oneshot idea I need to get out of my system first…**

**Please leave feedback ^^**


	6. Red Flame

Yashiro Isana was a charismatic man. With silvery hair , amber eyes and boyish good looks , despite having been unconscious in the cargo hold of a plane for a long time , seemed fresh and cheerful. When Cray and Wilson came into his room , Neko and Kuroh were with him. Both glared , although Kuroh seemed to have come to some kind of understanding and therefore looked more tolerant.

"Don't worry. " Cray said in halting Japanese.

Instantly, Yashiro Isana twigged that the two of them were foreign. He rattled off a string of German. Cray and Wilson gave each other a look.

"I took German in high school. " Wilson said

"Lucky you. I took Spanish. " Cray replied

Wilson turned back to Yashiro Isana, and in her high-school-level German explained to him that they were American and from NCIS. The young man nodded , and then spoke in heavily accented but grammatically flawless English.

"I see. This is to do with Tatara Totsuka, yes? Kuroh and Neko told me a little when they got here. I had nothing to do with it , and I met Totsuka-san once , so I'll be happy to cooperate. But first things first , please just call me Shiro. I might be the supposed next Silver King , but formalities do annoy me. "Shiro gave a smile. Cray imagined that smile had swept many teenage girls off their feet at one time.

Kuroh said something to Shiro, sounding mock-annoyed.

Shiro laughed and made a dismissive gesture. Kuroh glared, and then laughed too. Shiro turned back to the two agents and said.

"Well then , where shall we start?"

Cray answered " Our boss back in America wants to interview you too , so tomorrow , after you have got some rest , we are going to set up a video conference , but for now perhaps we'll just ask some preliminary questions. "

"of course , but the time gap is quite impressive. How will you work that?"

"Oh , this investigation has meant pulling some long hours , they'll be fine. "

"I see. Ask away, then."

Wilson collected her thoughts , then asked

"Could you tell us where you've been the past…8 years."

"I couldn't honestly tell you where , specifically but…." Shiro shut his eyes , as if recalling something. "I was in the back of a van a lot. I'd often wake in weird places and then be dragged back in the van . I was in America once…..I remember seeing the White House ….but I couldn't really tell you when. To be honest, I'm still shocked that we're already in the 2030's. "

Wilson stifled a smile , as did Cray.

"You say dragged…you ever see by who?" Wilson asked

"Some guy….really thin . Thin body , long face , thin eyes , long nose….I'm sure you get the picture. Anyway , he had black hair , and his eye colour was just as dark…..that's all I can remember. "

"That's fine…" Wilson was about to continue questioning him when he let out a large yawn. Kuroh was quick to say something in a stream of very angry Japanese to Wilson and Cray , who were unable to make head or tail of it. Shiro was the one to translate it.

"he thinks I'm overtired and you're pushing me….I am tired , but….."

"It's fine. " Cray said. "We can come back tomorrow….we'll need to check with your nurses , but would 10am be OK with you?"

"Sure. "

"Well in that case , goodnight."

"_Oyasuminasai _" both agents recalled that this was the word for 'Goodnight' , and couldn't help smiling as they went back to the hotel.

…

The next day , Kuroh and Neko were nowhere to be seen. Instead , Awashima and Munakata accompanied Wilson and Cray.

Awashima and Munakata questioned Shiro themselves as Wilson and Cray set about connecting the laptop and setting up the video conference. Soon enough , the image of Lynnie in MTAC filled up the screen.

"Wilson , Cray! How have you been?"

"Long time no see Boss! We've been good. Tell your brother we said thanks for the phrase book. " Cray replied.

"Oh , so it was helpful then?"

"Yeah."

"Is that Isana there? Shall we get down to business?"

"That would be an idea." Wilson glared meaningfully at Cray as she said this . They moved slightly out of the way.

"Isana-san , hello there. I'm special agent Lindsay DiNozzo of NCIS."

"Oh. _Ohayou_ . Please, just call me Shiro. "

"Shiro-san, then. Now , I understand that you've told my two crazy agents a few things yesterday-"

"Yeah ." Shiro then went on to recount everything he had told Wilson and Cray. Lynnie seemed impressed.

"For someone who has no sense of time , you're pretty composed."

"Hah! Well , I've been on the receiving end of investigations before. Back before I discovered I was the Silver King. Man , once I'd found that out , it certainly helped explain a lot. Like why I knew German without ever being taught. Anyway, that's off topic."

"Can you remember anything about the HOMRA fire? Do you know why the Colourless King would chase after remaining HOMRA members after 7 years? " Lynnie asked.

"I remember nothing about that fire. I came across a newspaper scrap which told of it , saying that the Totsuka boy and the little girl were the only survivors." The 'little girl' being Anna . "I met her once actually , at Ashinaka _Gakuen – _That was a while ago , and I had thought the Colourless King was dead. I can only imagine that for whatever reason his vendetta against the Red Clan is more personal than anything to do with hierarchy and tradition. "

"Ok…we'll note that. Ah , here's our Sketch Artist! thank you , Lisa. Now , Shiro , does this look like our culprit? The Colourless King?" Lynnie held up a picture. Shiro peered at the screen.

"Yes. His hair's more spiky though."

"OK. Reisi Munakata-san ?"

"Yes?" Reisi put himself in better view of the laptop screen.

"I'll be sending this image to you as well , so if you could circulate it …?"

"Airports , bus-stations, schools , etc. , I know. We have a BOLO system also , except it doesn't really have a name . We'll do so once we get back to Headquarters. "

"Thank You." The screen went blank. Wilson shut down the laptop and put it in its bag.

"Well. Well." Cray flashed a look at his colleague. She looked annoyed. He took over

"Thanks for that , Shiro . "

"I'm guessing you'll be back later. " Shiro said wryly.

"If we have further questions , yes. Thanks again. Come on , Wilson."

…

Wilson was still mad that she hadn't had much time to talk to Lynnie . She was seriously starting to miss America. She liked Shizume City a lot –it had its charms , but she felt like it was working a spell on her , and she needed to get home before she was trapped forever.

Which was why she refused to go back to the hotel with Cray.

"Aren't you gonna get lost?"

"Nah. There are some good shops near the HOMRA bar. I could probably get some questioning done as well as getting some new clothes-which I DO NEED , by the way!"

"Ok….Call me if you get lost."

"Whatever, Crayfish. " she called him that just to annoy him. Petty , but it made her feel better. "See you tonight. "

She headed in the opposite direction , and soon found the bar. Before she knew it , she was soon able to forget her duties for a while and be a tourist again – she hadn't taken a holiday in ages.

She was just coming out of a shoe shop when a rushing figure caught her eye. Curious , instead of simply checking out the second-hand store she had been eyeing , she followed this figure across the street , dodging crowds as she did so- and still managing to hold on to her bags.

When she got a sighting of the figure , she stifled a gasp.

It was Saruhiko Fushimi.

He was in work clothes , but judging by his careful movements , he wasn't doing work. Suspicious. Quietly , so as to not alert him , she followed his escaping figure all the way to an alleyway. Although she kept moving to keep him in sight , she hesitated.

_If you go , you may never be able to return_

Wilson didn't know why she thought this, but she felt it was true. But she had to keep going –it might be the key to the case. So , before she had time to think , she quickly sent a message to Cray , then set off into the darkness.

…

Shiro had finished eating, but he wasn't sleepy. Neko, on the other hand , was , and she was curled up , much like a little kitten ,at the end of the bed. Smiling at the sight of her , he turned to Kuroh.

"It's been a while , hasn't it?"

"Since what?"

"Being like this. "

"I suppose. "

There was a silence, in which Shiro weighed up what he had to say. Then:

"Kuroh?"

"Did you feel it?"

"Eh?"

"A Red Flame. There is another Red King."

"Well…I felt it . " He looked Kuroh in the eye, willing him to guess what it was he was so hesitant to say.

Thankfully, he did.

"No! No way! That can't be!"

"Yes . I am afraid so. The next Red King will be one of those American agents."

…**.**

**So , there are a couple of cliff-hangers here . Unfortunately, the next chapter might take a while to come. Sorry about that. And sorry about the shortness of the chapter . I hope you managed to enjoy it anyway.**

**Please leave feedback.**


	7. Everything goes to Hell

Kuroh stared at Shiro.

"Which…which one?"

Shiro screwed up his face in thought.

"I wish I _could_ tell you. I've only met them twice, so I couldn't honestly tell you. Do you have any idea? "

"No." Kuroh admitted. "If we got one of them on their own , then we'd know for sure ."

Shiro nodded, then yawned.

"You'd….best tell the….. other Kings for me. "Shiro promptly fell asleep .

Kuroh stared at his King , his friend for a while , then woke up Neko.

"Nya… what's going on Kurosuke?" The pink haired girl rubbed her sleepy eyes and glared.

"We have something important to do for Shiro. Let's go."

…

There had been a time when Anna had known exactly what time it was in her hometown. When sitting in class , struggling through American school life , she imagined exactly what she'd be doing back home , what Tatara would be doing , and what everyone else would do if they were alive. But now , Shizume City was little more than a distant memory , and she enjoyed her high-school life thoroughly , having made a diverse , if not so large , group of friends.

Today , though , she was alone. The 2 of her friends-Ella-Louise and Tanya, who were in this Maths class with her , were both off school , and she found her thoughts drifting back to the past , especially the parts that had been brought up as a result of Tatara's death.

And most of all , she thought of Mikoto. His red warmth. And how she could now feel it again , how she recognised it despite the time that had gone by. The warmth had come from a strange place though, and that worried her.

So many lives had already been torn apart. Surely keeping quiet would mean that it wouldn't happen again, even if it meant that Shizume would go without a Red King for another generation.

Even if it meant that soon, she'd never get to feel that warmth again.

…

Esther Wilson followed Saruhiko Fushimi deeper and deeper into the alleyway that seemed to have no end. As she did so, she slowly pulled out her gun, ready to respond to danger, when everything seemed to go dark and she heard voices. Unfortunately for her, they were speaking in Japanese. Slowing and stopping, she attempted to pick out words.

The first thing she realised was that the conversation was entirely one-sided, a male voice she didn't recognise. The second thing she realised was that this person was talking about her and Cray. So she took a step forward. Then another. And another.

Although the voice was clearer, she still couldn't fully understand it, and she still couldn't see the person. So she took one more step.

And that was her mistake.

For as soon as she did so, she stepped on a food wrapper of some kind , and it made a loud crunching noise, catching the attention of the person she was trying to see. She was shocked to see that the person matched the various descriptions of the possible Colourless King. She was also shocked to see him approaching her with a menacing grin on his face.

Everything went black pretty quickly.

_If you go, you may never be able to return._

…

Kuroh and Neko were sitting in the office of Reisi Munakata, staring apprehensively at the monstrous tower of red bean paste that Awashima was tucking into.

She noticed them looking.

"Want some?"

"No thanks." Kuroh said for the both of them. Even Neko, with her love of food, wasn't a fan of red bean paste.

Before a full blown food conversation could occur , Munakata walked in. He swept the room with his eyes.

"Where's Fushimi-kun?"

"I don't know ." Awashima replied.

Munakata shrugged and simply said "That damn kid. "Then he turned to his two visitors.

"Yatogami-kun . I believe you have something to tell me. "

"Y-yes. Shiro asked me to tell you something. Of course , I'm sure you've probably noticed it too , but he requested me to tell you , just to be sure."

Awashima gave Kuroh a curious look.

"What is it?" Munakata asked.

"The Red King has returned, sir. Supposedly one of those agents who've come investigating the former Red King's Vassal, Tatara Totsuka."

"Hmm." Munakata considered . "It is true I felt a flame. But I've yet to get one of them alone , so I don't know which one. Did Shiro have any luck?"

"No . We're the same , they always come together. But…" Kuroh trailed off.

"What is it , Yatogami-kun?"

"These agents , they had no idea of the existence of the Kings. They probably dismiss it a superstition , simply the remnants of an old culture's myths. They've never been to Japan, let alone Shizume City. And they have fully fledged lives to go back to. How can our next Red King possibly be one of them?"

"The last Silver King came from Germany. I thought you'd remember this, considering Shiro is essentially his reincarnation. "

Kuroh nodded slowly.

A phone rang out suddenly. The people in the room who owned a phone went to check theirs. It turned out to be Awashima's, and she stepped outside the room to answer it.

Munakata, Kuroh and Neko all attempted to listen to the conversation. It was in English , so they surmised it must be one of the agents. Soon , Awashima came back in.

"We'll know for sure soon."

In response to their looks, she explained.

"Special Agent Cray has reported Special Agent Wilson missing. About 4 hours ago, after they left the hospital , Wilson went to do some shopping. Then about 10 minutes later she sent a text message to Cray. He hasn't got any response from her since, and she isn't answering her phone when he calls. "

"The colourless King." Kuroh breathed.

Seri nodded.

"I think so. "

The four of them waited in tense silence. Neko meowed occasionally, but didn't whine , as she seemed to understand the gravity of the situation.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was close to half an hour, Cray arrived.

"Awashima-san? Munakata-san?" Awashima , Munakata and Kuroh exchanged a look . Their answer was here.

"You'd best sit down, Special Agent Cray." Munakata indicated the seat in front of his desk. Cray sat , apprehensively.

"What are you going to do about Wilson? Should I call the police? " he asked.

Munakata looked at the agent gravely.

"We will be dealing with it , as will the other Kings , save for the Silver King , whom , as you know , is resting in hospital."

"I will act on behalf of him, however." Kuroh piped up. Munakata nodded to acknowledge Kuroh's comment.

Cray picked up on the fact that something unusual was going on.

"The other Kings? But….but why?" as soon as the question was out of Cray's mouth , he backtracked "I mean , I know this whole investigation centres around the Kings but Wilson…."

Munakata sighed , trying to figure out how to break the news.

"I'll go make contact with the other kings , to inform them . Yatogami-kun , Neko , come with me. " Seri told Munakata. The three left the room , and Munakata and Cray were alone.

"Well? Am I not going to get an answer?" Cray demanded.

"The other Kings are getting involved because any grievances committed towards a King are very serious matters. Especially future Kings."

"Future Kings?"

"To be specific , the next Red King."

"I…I don't understand."

"Special Agent Cray , we are taking the disappearance of Special Agent Esther Wilson seriously , because she is the next Red King , and that means not only that she is in danger form the colourless King , but that it is important to Shizume City that we find her. "

Cray sat back, blinking. Then, all of a sudden, he stood up.

"What do you mean? The RED KING?! What…how can that be?! Tell me this is some kind of joke! "

"This is no joke. "

Cray simply glared. Then he sighed, letting the anger drain out.

"Then let's find her. We can deal with this crap later. Let's just find her."

…

_Aged 3, standing on Jonah's feet and dancing around in the garden_

_Starting school , and not wanting to let go of Mummy's hand_

_Hiding under the bed , listening to Mummy and Daddy argue. _

_Moving house , but only with Daddy and Jonah._

_Meeting Dads new girlfriend , and Mum's new boyfriend._

_Crying while saying goodbye to Jonah as he leaves to start college._

_Starting middle school and discovering basketball._

_The birth of half-sisters Rose and Gracie, and feeling proud to finally, finally be a big sister._

_15 years old, First kiss from Justin Hartwood , behind the school building ._

_Getting straight As in the last year of middle school, being branded a genius._

_Staying up all night partying-being 16 only happens once after all._

_The motorbike accident , being in hospital and then being held back a year ._

_The freedom of finally finishing high-school. _

_Nervously hanging around the NCIS squadroom with other probies, and noticing one of them saying 'Hi Dad!' to one of the senior agents who walks by._

_Making friends with Lynnie , and going out for a celebration dinner when they both get promoted to the status of Field Agent. _

_Learning to swim. _

A random sequence of memories , all jumbled up , played on and on in Wilson's head, and she was sure that she was dead. Until she realised her head was throbbing and cloth was stretched over her face. Hesitantly , she moved her hand , and was somewhat pleased to realise they weren't tied. Slowly , she managed to ascertain that she was blindfolded , but not gagged. She sighed , a long , long sigh of relief , and managed to get her thoughts into order .

It would seem the Colourless king had captured her , another thing to add to the long list of crimes he'd committed. But why? Why just her? Was it because she was alone at the time? So far , everything that this guy had done was aimed solely at Kings , or those directly related to Kings. Apart from the fact she was investigating , there was no direct link between her and the Kings?

Or was there? Perhaps there _was_ something. This city had been pulling at her ever since she had arrived, and there had been a voice deep inside her subconscious screaming to get the hell away. And she had ignored it , and now she was here , blindfolded and alone god knows where.

_Cray._

Was he worried? Looking for her? Did Lynnie and the others know? How long had it been since she'd separated from Cray?

The questions turned into panic, and the blindfold quickly turned wet. She reached to untie it so that the tears could fall freely , but the knot was tied tightly , and she was only able to pull it down from her eyes rather than take it off completely , and the tears stopped as soon as she did was instead filled with a firm , quiet yet angry resolve. It felt red and warm inside her.

Hesitantly , she stood up , and attempted to survey her surroundings. Then she discovered something else. Her legs were tied together. As if in a dream , she bent down to untie her legs. It took some doing, but she finally managed. Then , she looked around.

It was dark. Her eyes managed to see various cloth covered piles , but no sign of a door. She sighed. Slowly, slowly and with determination, she stepped forward and started to feel her way around , all the time keeping a lookout for the Colourless King.

She stepped over wood and metal and glass. Then she tripped over a torch .

"ow!"

After the initial pain in her leg had ebbed away, she picked it up , and tested it. It worked , albeit faintly . She saw how the room was a mess , debris everywhere , some of it covered in cloths , some of it exposed. She noticed a light coming from above , but only drifting through piles of wood.

If she could just climb up there and push all that mess away…

Quickly , she went around , finding boxes and other items which she could use to make a staircase of sorts . As she was reaching for one box , the torchlight caught some other interesting items. Abandoning the box , she looked at these items. A charred teddy bear . A small patent shoe. A pencil case. Remains of ribbons. Half a photo.

She picked up this half photo , and felt the world drop away.

Although it was mostly burned , there was enough left for her to suddenly realise where she was. The picture was of a little child , smiling and laughing . It appeared to be her birthday , and she was being carried. Who by , Wilson couldn't tell as that was the part of the picture that had been burnt , but the child was reaching out and attempting to put a party hat onto the head of a tall , red haired man looked bored , but Wilson somehow knew he was happy really. And she instantly knew the child was Anna, despite only having ever seen her present self. Which meant that the other guy was Mikoto. The former Red King.

She started to realise where she was , which was why she failed to notice the flames that had sprouted up around her. When she did , she looked up , watching the colours dance around her. It was mesmerising , comforting even.

_Wait! What am I doing? _Shaking her head in confusion , she rushed around , trying to continue what she had been doing before getting distracted by the photo and its implications . All of a sudden , she'd realised why the Colourless King had left her relatively free within her confinement , and she was working against the clock. Yet she was calm.

_I should be afraid._

But she wasn't. And she had no idea why.

…

They had been searching and searching, and now night was falling. Scepter4 people were all over the city, calming down the civilians and helping the search. , as news of the Red King had spread far and wide. The other Kings' clanspeople were helping with the search in other areas, and Cray , Awashima , Munakata and Kuroh were searching in the general area of the hotel. Shiro had been discharged from hospital, and was now staying with Neko in his old dorm room at the Ashinaka High School , recuperating.

The four paused for breath in front of a shop.

"Drink?" Awashima held out bottles of water.

The 3 men shook their heads. Awashima shrugged and put some of the bottles back in her bag.

Kuroh's phone rang . He stepped away to answer it. A few moments of talking , and then he came back . He pressed a button on the phone , and Shiro's voice floated.

"Any luck , _Minna-san_?"

"Nope. " Cray said .

"Shiro , what do you suggest we do now? If we don't find the Red King soon , I fear time will run out for her. "

Munakata didn't need to say more. By now , even Cray knew what that meant to their world.

"I…let me think…." There was an awkward silence , in which they started walking again.

Shiro's disembodied voice made them jump

"What about the old Red King's haunt? That bar? "

"HOMRA , you mean?" Cray asked , remembering that Wilson had decided to go shopping there before sending the strange text and disappearing.

"That's the one."

"Wilson was near there before….let's go!" Cray broke into a run.

"Wait!" the others rushed to catch up with the agent. Kuroh kept Shiro on the phone throughout. People stared . if they didn't know what was going on , they did have some inkling that all was not well.

And then they got to the street that HOMRA was on.

A crowd was formed at some distance , and a fire truck was pulling up. They soon realised why , as HOMRA was in flames. Again.

"Can you feel it ?" Kuroh asked Munakata and Awashima. Both nodded , to busy rushing towards the disaster.

"What? What is it? " Cray asked.

Kuroh paused , and turned , trying to formulate words.

"Special Agent Wilson." He said simply. It was enough , as Cray was off like a shot.

"Special Agent Cray!" Once Munakata noticed , he turned from where he was ordering the firemen and rushed towards the agent.

Cray turned , eyes blazing.

"You keep saying 'oh , we're taking this seriously whatever whatever whatever' , but you're not _doing _anything!So _I _am!"

"Special Agent Cray , breathe. She's the Red King , remember?"

"This means anything how?"

"The Red King traditionally has an affinity for fire. We will be getting her out , but I think she'll be fine."

Cray stared at him . Silently , angrily. Then , ever impulsive , he ran in the direction of the burning remains.

Nobody could stop him.

**Another cliffhanger! I'm so mean , I know , especially since this chapter took so long. I'm sorry. But since I'm so busy I figured this'd keep you hooked for a while till I can get the next chapter uploaded. There should only be one or two more chapters left before this story ends , as well as an epilogue. **

**Please leave feedback!**


	8. Whatever Happens

Waking up was a surprise , as she hadn't thought she'd end up falling asleep. But she was even more surprised to realise her surroundings had changed. Now everything was white. And…were those people surrounding her.

She sat up ,warily , realising she was in a bed._ Hospital?_ Blinking , she tried to focus. And then her eyes fell on a face she recognised.

"Crayfish?"

"Don't call me that." The automatic response of a solid and constant friendship. Wilson smiled. Whatever had happened , whatever would happen now , it'd all be fine.

"Can…you tell me what happened?"

…

Soon after Cray had rushed straight into the fire , Munakata was quick to send firemen in after him , while getting Awashima ,. Kuroh and Shiro-on-the-phone to chase down the colourless King , with additional orders to find out where Fushimi was. Munakata then followed the firemen to find Cray.

Cray had somehow managed to navigate through glass, wood ,metal and other debris - much of it already in flames -and locate what appeared to be a basement. This was where the most smoke was coming from-the source of the fire.

"Wilson!Wilson! Can you hear me? It's Cray!" he yelled, getting no response. He repeated himself a few times , and when the response failed to come , he cursed , and started crashing through the burning basement barricades , still shouting.

It was easy to spot Wilson, sitting in the middle of it all , clutching two items tightly in her hand looking as though she was glowing and seeming placid. But when he approached, her , it was discovered that she was unconscious , and in a trance of sorts. Nothing snapped her out. Cray started to panic when Munakata and the firemen arrived. The firemen instantly got to work , putting out the fire. Munakata helped Cray rescue Wilson.

Cray tried his best to relate all of this as well as he could. Of course , there were lots of gaps from the events he wasn't there for , but as he spoke , Wilson's face seemed happier.

"What happened to Fushimi?"

"Fushimi…..Fushimi….Oh! You mean Saruhiko Fushimi?"

"Yeah, I was following him. He led me to the Colourless King."

Cray frowned. None of them had known this.

"Is Fushimi actually working for him?"

"The hell should I know? I was kidnapped , remember?"

"Yeah , yeah." Cray stood up. "Looks like I have things to ask about. Get some sleep. And something to eat. Not necessarily in that order. "

"Hah. Thanks."

As Cray left , he realised there was one very , very important thing he'd failed to tell her.

…

Fushimi got up and stretched

"Man that was long." As soon as the words left his mouth he realised 2 things. First :he had no idea what he was referring to , and two : he was being stared at by Munakata , The Silver King , and the male American Agent.

"What the hell…."

"You have questions to answer." The Silver King , Shiro , said. " About the Colourless King."

"Huh…?" Fushimi didn't have a clue what he was talking about , but all of a sudden , memories of a long-ago failure came flooding back. He gritted his teeth and turned away.

"I'm guessing you don't remember , huh?" Shiro said. "That's fine. We just need you to come with us , and tell us what you know."

Fushimi thought this over. It could be a ploy to arrest him , but at the same time it was best to get away from this alleyway. He felt awkward being there , and it stunk anyway. So he agreed.

It was a pleasant surprise to realise he wasn't being arrested as he ended up being taken to Munakata's office. It wasn't a pleasant surprise to notice Shiro's Vassal and the other Kings , along with their Vassals –it indicated the situation was more serious than he realised.

"Munakata? What is the meaning of this?"

"The meaning of what?" Munakata said mildly , arching an eyebrow.

"This." Fushimi gestured. "I mean , a foreigner was kidnapped on our soil but to make it an all-Kings matter?"

"Don't be so insolent –"Awashima started to say , but Munakata cut her off.

"It's fine. After all, Fushimi-kun couldn't be expected to know about Special Agent Wilson being the next Red King. "

Fushimi blinked. Had he just heard right? He looked at the other agent. From his gritted teeth and angry eyes , Fushimi supposed it must be true. Things like that tended to turn lives upside down, especially if they were not a part of the usual world they inhabited. He should know. He had turned a life upside down, and had his turned upside down in return.

"Anyway." Munakata clapped his hands as if to get them all to focus. "As Shiro said , we have questions to ask. Shall we begin?"

After some back and forth questioning , they were soon able to know that Fushimi had snuck off to buy lunch , remembered the sensation of being followed –but nothing else until the moment he had awoken to find four faces staring at him.

"So , it can be concluded that the Colourless King did the same thing to Fushimi."A pause , then Shiro clarified "The same as what he did to me , but only for a shorter time."

"Why?" Awashima asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" They all turned to Cray. Fushimi was surprised her was following the conversation, considering most of it had been in Japanese.

Cray continued "This Red King stuff must be true , because did the Colourless King killed the old Red King , right? Clearly he has a personal vendetta against Red, so once he realised Wilson was the new Red King , he attempted to get rid of her?"

Fushimi blinked , processing the words.

"But Red Kings have a traditional affinity for fire. The chances of that actually working were minimal." He pointed out.

Now it was Cray's turn to blink and process the words. Munakata quickly offered a translation , and Cray nodded a thanks to Munakata before replying to Fushimi

"Didn't the rest of HOMRA die by fire?"

Fushimi felt like he had been shot. Luckily for him , Awashima stepped in. He didn't think he's be able to respond normally.

"Anyway , the point is , the guy is a psychopath and needs to be apprehended. "

"Munakata-san , you've sent out Hidaka-kun's team to make an arrest , no? Should I send some of my members to assist?" The Gold King asked.

"That would be good. Infact , everyone should send some clan members out to assist , okay."

"Me and Kuroh will stay with Special Agent Cray , to greet Special Agent DiNozzo. "

"In which case I will go and meet her at the airport. " with that , Awashima left , and soon the various others left , leaving Munakata , Fushimi , Shiro , Kuroh and Cray in the room.

The silence grew awkward , and eventually Cray burst out.

"How do I tell her ?"

The other four looked at him.

"How do I tell Wilson what she is? She'll freak. Our lives , _her life_ , is back in America . You can't expect her to go 'oh , okay.' Drop everything and be your damn Red King!"

"Nobody expects that." Shiro soothes.

"Although if she refuses the city will be Red King-less for another generation. That won't be good."

Shiro gave Kuroh a look that said _shut up_. Then he said.

"She still needs to know though. So when you next see her , tell her. We will go from there. Right?"

Munakata , Kuroh and Fushimi nodded. They all looked at Cray , who took a deep breath , then said.

"Okay."

…

It was all over quickly. The Colourless king turned out to have a stupid side , and he was found near the HOMRA bar. He didn't put up a fight when arrested , and although he confessed everything , even the events of 8 years ago , he refused to give his name or a clear motive . Putting his picture and fingerprints into the database turned up nothing. The same with DNA. So everyone assumed that he was homeless , and mentally ill.

Scepter4 Jailed him , and the trial was pending , although it was merely a formality , as everyone knew he'd be sentenced for a long time.

That was the easy part . The hard part of the whole mess was yet to come.

…

Wilson was sitting in the hotel bar with Cray and Lynnie , and they were chatting as if they were back home. Which they would be soon.

After a while , they paused talking to sip at their drinks.

"Ah , Milo'd be so jealous." Lynnie said.

"Cos we're in Japan?"

"Yeah. "

Another silence followed. Cray took a deep breath , and Wilson noticed.

"Something wrong."

He spluttered . "I , I , Erm….." he gave up trying to dress up the news , and just blurted it out .

"You're the next Red King!"

"Excuse me , what?!" Wilson asked.

"You heard me. Sorry." What else could he say?

"is this true , Lynnie?"

The senior agent nodded . "Shiro told me when I arrived yesterday. "

"I…I see. " Wilson looked pale as she stood up suddenly.

"I'm going to bed." Was all she said as she left.

Cray and Lynnie were left with each other.

"That was abrupt."

"You don't think I know that ?!"

Lynnie sighed.

"Perhaps we should sleep too. "

"yeah , perhaps we should."

…

Wilson tossed and turned in the darkness , memories flashing through her head , all alternating with the surprising revelation. She couldn't believe it .

_Yet it made sense._

She hated that fact , but it was true. It all made sense. Her feeling of love for the city and the simultaneous feeling that she needed to leave or she'd never return. Her lack of fear when trapped in the fire. The wary looks Anna had given her. , way back at the beginning of the investigation. Even looking back on her interactions with Totsuka with this new knowledge made it all come together. He must have known –he had been Mikoto Suoh's vassal. Yet he said nothing. Because he knew the two worlds were too far apart to ever come together.

Yet now they had . And she had an important decision to make.

"_Crayfish?"_

"_Don't call me that."_

The trademark of a solid friendship. One that would never die. Whatever happened. It would never die.

All of a sudden , she knew what needed to be done. At least , partially.

She reached for her phone on the bedside table , switched it on , dialled a number , left a message. S

The beginning of the end. Or maybe just a new chapter.

…

"it's good to be home , isn't it?"

"Yeah , of course it is. Although , you do realise this isn't my only home anymore,Crayfish?"

"Yeah. " a pause "Don't call me that."

Wilson laughed "I guess I'm lucky. Most people only have one place they can truly call home. "

"You have two."

"Exactly."

"We miss you already you know. Surely you didn't need to leave NCIS already?"

"Yeah , but I need time . Time to work out what I'll do there. Time to get passports and visas and all that crap. I need to tie up the loose ends here. I need to make connections there."

"Yeah,yeah , whatever , but don't go forgetting us." Cray turned and looked at her seriously. Wilson tried to make light of it.

"We're going to dinner next week silly!"

"Idiot. You know what I mean."

"I know. " Wilson turned serious. "I honestly have no idea what's going to happen , once I officially become the Red King , but whatever happens , us –you and me –we'll be fine , yes?"

"of course."

**There you have it! The end of the story. The epilogue will try and clear up a few things , and it will be from a viewpoint we haven't heard from in the story so far , so hopefully it'll be interesting too.**

**Please leave feedback!**


	9. Epilogue:Musing

**So , ,now the story is finally finished and all that's left is this epilogue. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you enjoyed the story **

**Please leave feedback**

Coming to the city I'd heard so much about in my childhood was not what I'd expected. Some of my earliest memories involve Papa tucking me in and weaving stories of Kings and magical powers, good and evil, and above all hope. Mummy told me stories too, before she got cancer and died, but those were your standard fairy tales. So it was Papa's stories that stuck with me.

But I'd never realised that they were more than stories. It turned out Anna was part of them too, but she never said a word. To me, she was just an aunt who was more like a big sister, taking care of me and making me laugh. I only found out the truth after my Papa died. I was 6 at the time , so I didn't really understand the investigation or anything like that , but when I was a 13yr old listening to Anna tell me these things , I found myself looking back on those times , understanding things differently.

As I was pretty much an all-American sort of girl , it would have been expected for me to dismiss it all as crap , nothing more than myths and legends. Anna told me that's what the NCIS people did at first , but then one of their own ended up being part of the legend , and it all their assumptions went to hell. But I was also a girl who'd been brought up on stories –I had it in my blood , after all. It didn't surprise me so much , and when I looked back , I realised something.

Washington D.C may not be Shizume City. NCIS isn't HOMRA , or Scepter4 , or Usagi , but that place , it has its own history. Its own stories , legends and even Kings. Like Agent Gibbs , who didn't retire until he died. He was the protégé of someone called Mike Franks , who was called an 'NCIS legend'. There's Agent Lynnie , who led the investigation . Being an NCIS agent was her dream , and by fulfilling it she followed in the footsteps of her father , who was an agent too. During my time there , there were all sorts of stories about Team Gibbs –the case they investigated , the loves they gained and lost , their stupidities , their dreams , their loyalty. Everything. In some ways , they could be seen as being part of what NCIS makes …well , NCIS.

In the same way , the Seven Kings made Shizume City what it was , made Anna who she is , made Papa who he was. Esther-san found her calling because of them . I discovered who I was because of it.

So going there, to Shizume City , became a lifelong dream. In amongst the confusion and sadness , it was something to look towards All through the rest of middle school , and all through high school , I saved up for that while my friends saved up for cars. I even saved up during my first year in College. And now , it's my gap year , and I'm here.

I'm here.

It's amazing , really amazing. Its colourful and busy and urban. And the place glows. Not just with the artificial lights. It really glows. I wish Anna had come with me , but after Papa's death , she wanted nothing more to do with this part of her life. The only thing she kept were the memories.

The first thing I did when I arrived was look at the map I printed out for a moment before shoving it in my pocket and following the directions I memorised. It didn't take me long to get there. It was home time, and children were spilling out of the school , happy , and laughing. They were glowing too. It was such an amazing scene, than rather than approach the former HOMRA building, I just stood across the street and watched a while , soaking in the sunlight and laughter.

It was an amazing thing really. When it got burnt down a second time, all plans to rebuild it into a school were scrapped. But when Esther-san came here and took up her post as Red King( I was 9 at the time , and we'd become pretty good friends ) , she insisted on it being happening. Now , it takes in all types of kids , from the privileged to the disadvantaged , Esther-san is the principal of the school , and it has a plaque dedicated to the memory of those who died in the first HOMRA fire. The building itself is dedicated to Papa. And when I was watching it, it felt like Papa was there. With me. And it made me feel so safe that I didn't really care that I didn't know a word of Japanese save for some honorifics and basic greetings. I also forgot about all the loss that I'd experienced.

Because, sometimes when you lose something, you gain something else. Hope grows in the empty gaps left behind. And things get better.


End file.
